1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and a system for providing an ‘app store’ (application store) service in a mobile terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to an establishment of an environment in which information about app stores is acquired and an app store service by the app stores is supported and a method of controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of information and communication technologies and semiconductor technologies, mobile terminals are rapidly and widely used. Recently, the latest mobile terminal includes technologies that converge the functions of a plurality of types of mobile terminals. Typically, mobile communication terminals, in addition to standard communication functions such as voice call and message transmission, have various additional functions, such as a TV viewing function, for example mobile broadcasting such as Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) and Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), music reproducing function such as Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG-1) or MPEG-2 audio Layer-3 (MP3), photographing function, internet function, etc.
Recently, a ‘online mobile content (software) market,’ where mobile applications such as schedulers, address books, alarms, calculators, games, motion pictures, internet access, music reproduction, navigators, word processors, and spreadsheets are traded freely, are becoming available. The mobile content market is called an Application Store, or AppStore.
The AppStore is not a closed market where large enterprises develop applications and mobile communication enterprises sell the developed application, but an open market where any individual may develop and sell applications. Anybody may develop and sell an application to global users using a Software Development Kit (SDK) published by a management enterprise.
When the application developed by an independent individual is registered to the AppStore, consumers access the AppStore through his/her wireless communication network to download the selected application to his/her mobile terminal or to download the same to a personal computer and to transfer the downloaded application to his/her mobile terminal.
However, the AppStore is implemented in the form in which a subject managing the AppStore becomes one of the providers. Every developer accesses one AppStore to register applications. Users of the AppStore select only one AppStore due to a preset AppStore access function of a mobile terminal, but neither select nor use multiple AppStores.
Therefore, since every developer accesses one AppStore, it is difficult to deal with various AppStores. Since the present AppStore does not accept several AppStores, a monopoly on the AppStore service may arise. Users of the AppStore cannot use a price comparison service for desired applications.